Lesson 7: Behavioral Views of Learning

Learning

• Process in which experience causes permanent change in knowledge, behavior, or potential for behavior

• Must be brought about by experience

Behavioral perspective

• theorized that thoughts, or cognition played NO role in behavior.

• They disagreed with Freud's theories on the unconscious mind.

• Only observable behavior had meaning to them.

Environmental determinism

theory which states our environment shapes every aspect of who we were, who we are, and will be.

Contiguity learning

• Association of two events because of repeated pairing (learning by association)

• Stimulus occurs (event that activates behavior)

• Response follows (observable reaction to stimulus)

Classical conditioning

• Association of automatic responses with new stimuli (contiguity involved)

• Pair a new stimulus with a response

• Stimulus eventually elicits automatic response

• Discovered by Pavlov, Russian physiologist, 1920's

• Observations with dogs

Operants

Voluntary, generally goal-directed behaviors emitted by a person or an animal

Operant Conditioning

• Strengthen or weaken voluntary behavior by consequences or antecedents

• Concept developed by B. F. Skinner, 1953

• Based on view that classical conditioning accounts for small portion of learned behavior

Antecedents and Consequences

Events that precede the behavior and events that follow it

Reinforcement

Use of consequences to strengthen behavior

Positive Reinforcement

• Addition of stimulus

• Strengthen behavior by adding desired stimulus after the behavior (response) occurs

• Compliments received when you wear a new outfit; you likely wear outfit again

Negative Reinforcement

• Subtraction of Stimulus

• Strengthen behavior by removing (subtracting) an aversive (irritating or unpleasant) stimulus after the behavior occurs

Punishment

Process that weakens or suppresses behavior

Presentation punishment

• Decrease behavior by adding an aversive stimulus following the behavior. An example could be the spanking of a child after misbehaving.

• also called Type I punishment.

• Positive punishment

Extinction

• Disappearance of a learned response (when reinforcement is removed)

• Occurs in classical conditioning when conditioned stimulus appears but unconditioned stimulus does not follow

• Occurs in operant conditioning if the usual reinforcer is withheld long enough

Stimulus control

Capacity for presence/absence of antecedents to cause behaviors

Cue

A stimulus that “sets up” desired behavior

Effective instruction delivery

• Concise, clear, specific instructions that communicate expected result.

• Statements work better than questions.

Prompt

Reminder that follows a cue to make sure person reacts to cue

Principles for Cue and Prompt

• The environmental stimulus that you want to become a cue occurs immediately before the prompt you are using, so students will learn to respond to the cue and not rely only on the prompt.

• Fade (gradually reduce or delay) the prompt as soon as possible so students do not become dependent on it

Applied Behavior Analysis

• Application of behavioral learning principles to understand change behavior

• Sometimes called behavior modification:

• Systematic use of antecedents/consequences to change behavior

Premack Principle

• Principle named for David Premack, 1965

• States that a more-preferred activity can serve as a reinforcer for a less-preferred activity

• Sometimes called Grandma’s rule:

Grandma’s rule

Premack principle is also called ____ because

• First, do what I want you to do, then do what you want.

• Less-preferred activity must happen first

• Ideas for reinforcers in classroom application of rule

• Time to talk, sit with friend, use computer, make a video, play games (PREFERRED ACTIVITIES)

Shaping

• Successive approximations

• Reinforce progress rather than waiting for perfection

• Especially useful when student cannot perform skill or task to gain reinforcement

• Reinforcing each small step of progress toward a desired goal or behavior

Positive practice

• Practicing correct responses immediately after errors

• Effective when students make academic errors

• Correct an academic mistake as soon as possible; practice the correct response immediately

Positive practice overcorrection

Practice correct behavior until it becomes almost automatic

Contingency contract

• ____ between teacher/student specifying what student must do to earn specified reward/privilege

• Teacher writes contract, specifies what student must do

• Student may help in setting goal, suggesting reward

• A contract between the teacher and a student specifying what the student must do to earn a particular reward or privilege.

Token reinforcement system

Tokens earned for academic work or positive behavior can be exchanged for reward

Negative Reinforcement

• Use something aversive to get students to achieve goal, then remove aversive stimulus

• Puts students in control; may not effect desired change

• Strengthening behavior by removing an aversive stimulus when the behavior occurs.

Reprimands

• Criticisms of misbehavior – Should be done quietly, privately to be effective

• rebukes.

Response cost

Punishment by loss of reinforcers

Positive Behavior Supports

• Interventions designed to replace problem behaviors with new actions that serve the same purpose for the student.

• Preventive strategies used as ____

• Identify context for student’s misbehavior

• Specify alternative expected behavior

• Modify situation to make problem behavior unlikely

• Rehearse expected positive behaviors; reinforce

• used in school-wide programs

Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Theory

• Albert Bandura challenges behaviorism, develops new theories

• Bandura’s early work and later work

• Distinguishes between enactive and observational learning

Enactive learning

Learn by doing, experience consequences of your actions

Observational

Learn by observation, imitation of others

Antecedents

Events that precede an action.

Behavioral learning theories

Explanations of learning that focus on external events as the cause of changes in observable behaviors.

Conditioned response

Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus

Stimulus that evokes an emotional or physiological response after conditioning.

Continuous reinforcement schedule

Presenting a reinforcer after every appropriate response.

Functional behavioral assessment

Procedures used to obtain information about antecedents, behaviors, and consequences to determine the reason or function of the behavior.

Good behavior game

Arrangement where a class is divided into teams and each team receives demerit points for breaking agreed- upon rules of good behavior.

Group consequences

Rewards or punishments given to a class as a whole for adhering to or violating rules of conduct.

Interval schedule

Length of time between reinforcers.

Neutral stimulus

Stimulus not connected to a response.

Ratio schedule

Reinforcement based on the number of responses between reinforcers.

Reinforcer

Any event that follows a behavior and increases the chances that the behavior will occur again.

Removal punishment

• Decreasing the chances that a behavior will occur again by removing a pleasant stimulus following the behavior;

• also called Type II punishment.

Respondents

Responses (generally automatic or involuntary) elicited by specific stimuli.

Self-management

• Management of your own behavior and acceptance of responsibility for your own actions.

• Also, the use of behavioral learning principles to change your own behavior

Self-reinforcement

Controlling (selecting and administering) your own reinforcers.

Task analysis

System for breaking down a task hierarchically into basic skills and subskills.

Social isolation

Removal of a disruptive student for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stimulus

Event that activates behavior.

Stimulus control

Capacity for the presence or absence of antecedents to cause behaviors.

Unconditioned response

Naturally occurring emotional or physiological response.

Unconditioned stimulus

Stimulus that automatically produces an emotional or physiological response.